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About Me

Hello, and welcome! My name is Renna (pronounced wren-uh). I hope you'll leave a comment and let me know you were here. I love meeting new people through my blog and the blogs of others.
My life is ordinary, but I am blessed. I have a great husband, who I sometimes refer to as Mr.Studley (shhh-he doesn't know it!).
I have grown kids who are a delight to me.
I homeschooled my youngest through high school.
I have dabbled in many crafts, but seem to have found my 'knitch' in knitting.
I taught myself to knit using online videos. I'm not great at it, but I have great fun at it. I love watching birds in the wild.
I'm a little too crazy about my Min Pin, Leyna.
I hope I'm never accused of being "religious", though my desire is to bring glory to God in all that I do. He created me. He loves me. He sent His Son to die for me. I strive to let His love be reflected in my life.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Friday, May 30, 2008

It won't make the best seller's list, though it could be touted as a sleep aide. Such as it is, here's my list of 100 Things About Me That You Never Knew You Wanted To Know.1) Though I do value human lives over those of animals, I get more excited about seeing and holding a puppy than a baby. I figured I should lay that awful truth about myself right out there. 2) What About Bob? is my all time favorite movie. 3) I had both legs run over by a car as a child, and never even went to the doctor. I suffered no damage other than the initial pain.4) I like and enjoy pretty much all foods. 5) I am married to my third husband. He's a keeper! 6) I have been divorced once. We married too young and he couldn't keep the commitment. 7) I have been widowed once. My late husband was nearly 29 when he drowned while scuba diving. 8) When I was 22, my biological dad was shot and killed by his girlfriend. She went to prison. 9) I had a stepdad from the time I was 11 until he died a few years ago. He was the greatest dad ever! 10) I have one brother 2 1/2 years older than me, and two older stepbrothers (to whom I'm not close). My great disappointment in life is that I don't have a sister. 11) The only foreign country I've visited is Mexico. 12) The farthest I've ever travelled was to Hawaii. My parents took me there for 2 weeks when I graduated from high school. 13) I am fascinated by birds in the wild. I like to feed them, watch them, photograph them, and take them in when they're orphaned or injured. 14) I wet the bed until I was 11.15) I am extremely hot natured. 16) I can't sing a lick. 17) I can't dance, either. 18) My husband and I were married less than 3 weeks after we began dating. 19) We pretty much knew we wanted to get married by the end of the first date. 20) We recently had our 18th wedding anniversary, and our love continues to deepen. 21) I dread trips and vacations horribly (a sort of home separation anxiety), and yet I always have a blast when we go. 22) I love British films of all types, romances, dramas, or comedy. 23) I am not a people pleaser. Except to my mother, I don't generally have a problem saying "no" to people. 24) Until recently, for six years, I co-owned and co-ran an online christian homeschooling website (message board forums and curriculum sales) and yet I have very limited computer knowledge. Fortunately for me, my partner was (is) a computer whiz. 25) My husband is 15 years older than me, though all who meet him are genuinely shocked at learning his age-he looks much younger! 26) I homeschooled my youngest child from 3rd grade through high school. 27) I'm very gullible. When I was about 11 or 12, my older brother rushed into the house, excitedly claiming a spaceship had crashed into the river just outside of town. I was ready to hop on my bike's banana seat and peddle out there to see history in the making! 28) I was terrified of the dark as a child and much of my adult life. I slept with the covers over my head until I was married. Thank God, I have been delivered from that spirit of fear (2nd Timothy 1:7). 29) As a child, I frequently dreamed I could fly. I had that recurring dream for several years. I do still occasionally dream it. 30) When I was about 11, I began pulling out my eyelashes. I did it for a couple of years until embarrassment at how I looked motivated me to quit doing it. As an adult, I've since learned it's a disorder called Trichotillomania. 31) My bio father was an alcoholic. Ours was a very dysfunctional home, though as a child, I wasn't aware that everyone didn't live like we did. It no doubt had alot to do with the Trichotillomania. My mom divorced him when I was eleven. 32) Hello, my name is Renna. I am a sugaraholic. 33) I drink mostly water, occasionally indulging in soft drinks or iced-tea, but mostly water with ice. I thoroughly enjoy a glass of ice-water. 34) I LOVE salads. The more stuff in them, the better, but if lettuce is all I have on hand, I'll take that, too. 35) I love pastels and white. My sunroom is a pale blue, trimmed in white. My kitchen is a pale yellow, trimmed in white. My living and dining areas are a very pale sage (too pale, really, it looks almost white), trimmed in white. I find these colors soothing. 36) If I wore glasses, they would be very thick. Thank God for contacts. 37) I am naturally greyer than my mother or my older brother. Thank God for Clairol!38) I am short, at 5'3". 39) I was painfully shy throughout my childhood. When I was three years old, my Sunday School teacher asked my mom if I had been born mute. She'd had me in her class for a year and I'd never uttered a sound. 40) I am still very shy, but not nearly to the degree as I was when I was young. I find that the more I learn who I am in Christ, the more confidence I gain. 41) I had my tonsils removed when I was 3. The hospital must have offered a two'fers deal, as my older brother and I both went in at the same time and shared a room. My brother's surgery was first, and when they rolled him back into our hospital room, I thought he was dead. His skin was grey and his eyelashes were crusty. In my 3 year old mind, I deducted that having your tonsils removed meant you went in to die, and I was next. I really did think I was going to die. I was accepting of the fact, just like Siggy in What About Bob? . Siggy to Bog:"You are going to die. I am going to die. We are all going to die."

Of course, after the operation was over, and I was vomiting for hours from the anesthesia, I probably wanted to die!

42) I have always been an avid reader, but have found myself lacking in the needed concentration for it in the past year or so.

43) Though I don't consider myself very good at it (yet), I love to knit. 44) I am a night person. I get creative and energetic late at night after everyone else has gone to bed. 45) I never developed lower wisdom teeth. Does that make me a half-wit? (that's a rhetorical question!). 46) I nearly drowned when I was about 5. My brother, who'd noticed I was no longer sitting at the water's edge, saw the tip of my waist length hair floating on top of the pond water. He dove in and saved me. He couldn't have been more than 7 himself. I nearly drowned him, trying to push myself up on his head to get out of the water. He saved my life. 47) I remember, clearly, the day President Kennedy was shot. My 2nd grade teacher answered a soft knock on our classroom door. Another second grade teacher whispered something to her, then they both began to sob. 48) I also clearly remember the day President Reagan was shot. I was home watching the live coverage on tv. 49) I'm n0t a good finisher. I begin far more projects than I ever complete.

50) Going along with #49, I'm a procrastinator, or I should say I used to be a procrastinator. I'm working at overcoming that shortcoming. I need to call things that aren't as though they are.

51) My right foot is a good half-size larger than my left foot.

52) I love trees. Not as much as birds, but I really do like them. My mom says when I was little, if she couldn't find me, she'd start looking in the tops of the tall trees in the park across the street from our house. That's where I'd usually be. I no longer climb them, but I still enjoy them.

53) I am a homebody.

54) I snore. According to Hubby, I sometimes do it rather loudly.

55) I am not very self-disciplined.

56) I am an 'okay', but not great cook. I get rave reviews on my baking.

57) I am terrified of heights. We like to vacation in the Rocky Mountains, but I generally squeal, whine, and actually cry as we're traveling the roads to get in and out of them. I'm fine as long as my feet are on the ground, though.

58) I don't have a good memory for people's names. I remember many of my classmates and teachers from as far back as elementary school, but I remember very few of their names. In fact, I often forget someone's names within minutes after meeting them. It can be very embarrassing! I work on name association words to help me remember names I know are really important to remember.

59) I find it extremely difficult to sleep in strange places. I love to travel and stay in hotels, but no matter how comfortable the bed is, I generally lay there for at least an hour or more before I can fall asleep. It's the same way if we're staying in someone's home. By the second or third night, it gets easier.

60) I must sleep with a fan at night, year 'round. If the weather is warm, I aim it toward me. If it's winter and cold, I aim it away from me. I need the humming noise it makes to sleep. I even carry one with me when we travel.

61) Though I have a few non-cotton items I wear (mostly dress clothes), I dress almost exclusively in cotton. Being very hot natured, I find it most comfortable.

62) I can't stand to sleep 'in the middle' between two people. Granted, these days, situations aren't likely to arise requiring it. When my kids were young, during the years I was a widow, they'd often crawl into bed with me. I was constantly having to trade places with one or the other of them, due to a feeling of being trapped.

63) I can't sleep with my feet under the covers. If it's really cold, I'll keep them under there long enough to warm up, then I have to pull them out from under the covers. This is part of the reason I can't stand sleeping with someone on each side. I can't get my feet out!

64) I have broken my toes on several occasions. I finally quit going barefoot in the house, and no more broken toes.

65) I let my dog kiss (lick) me on the mouth. I can hear some of you gagging.

66) I hate going to funerals. I realize they're no picnic for anyone, but I get very stressed at them. It's not the fact that there's a dead person in a casket. It's more about the awkwardness I feel. I never know what to do, where to sit, or what to say.

67) I don't enjoy weddings for pretty much the same reasons. I don't do well in social situations where there are large groups present. I feel much more comfortable in smaller groups.

68) I spend too much time on the computer.

69) I find it hard to be brief, as is evidenced by this list. I always feel a compulsion to provide all the details.

70) I can't play any musical instruments, but I can play my nose.

71) I did play the cornet in junior high and high school, but haven't picked on up in many years, so I doubt I could still play it.

I surfed over from another blog. I enjoyed your 100 things...I also make primitive dolls and love my dog!!! I knew my husband for 3 months before we got engaged but we knew we were meant to be from day one.

I am amazed that you got to 100... not sure I'd have enough interesting things to write. Your life is interesting...thanks for sharing.

Okay, not sure about the dog mouth licking thing. But I read the other day that it would be 'safer' (cleaner) to drink out of the toilet (like dogs do) than to drink out of your kitchen sink. Something to ponder! (don't try this at HOME!)

Oh I love it, Renna!I was reading some of your list and thinking.. yes! I'm the same way!!For instance- I love to swim, I can't ride in the backseat, I love fruity not fru fru candles, I hate large social functions, I don't like feet either, and many more!! How funny is that!

Thanks for visiting my blog and I've been reading yours...amazing you were able to come up with 100 things...I don't like heights either, love coffee and I think we will be good friends...my brother and his family live in Ft. Worth!My husband and I knew each other for 3 months then got engaged..married a year later and been married now 34 years..guess he's a keeper too!

Wow Renna! I'm sure glad you shared those 100 things. What a fascinating person you are and I like you even more after reading them ... even the dog thing! LOL

I am a tree lover and am only 5'1". Do you think we like them because they're so much taller than we are? Of course, I sometimes talk to them. (Maybe I shouldn't have told you that ... you may never visit me again!) LOL

WOW Renna, you did soooo well my friend, I cracked up at some and my heart broke for others. I found another friend who actually loves the movie W.A.B.. And is it gross to get inside puppy kisses from your dog? uh ohhhh!!!!#101 my new online friend Kat thinks my hubs looks like a larger, thinner, but more handsome if possible version of Drew Carey...Mmmm Love the Drew man, but your hubby comes in a very close second!Thank you for sharing so many personal, funny, and intimate facts about yourself.BTW did you happen to recieve your giveaway in the mail yet? 2 others did, please let me know when, thanks, enjoy your day, you must be exhausted after that list...hugs, Kat

Hi! I blogged-hopped here (not quite sure where I came from...hmmm...). I really enjoyed your 100 things post - whenever I see one I MUST read! I loved it -especially the detail! Fun. I will come back!

Hello Renna, I find you are a "normal " women .LOL But the snoring I bet is from what I have. It's called... Sleep Alpaca. Your throat closes when you relax in sleep. Can be dangerous so please have it checked out.Elsie <><